A major milestone has been reached at the Central Processing Facility (CPF) of the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project
The first dry dock hull block has been erected, an occasion which was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony in the Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in Geoje, South Korea, where the CPF is being constructed.
The ceremony was attended by INPEX president Director Australia Seiya Ito and Ichthys Project Managing Director Louis Bon.
Speaking at the event, Mr Ito said the ceremony was significant as it recognised the introduction of the first large hull block to the SHI floating dock, where the CPF will be constructed.
“The placement of the hull block marks the culmination of huge fabrication efforts since the first steel plates were cut in January last year,” he said.
“Successful delivery of the CPF is of great importance as it is the centre of the Project’s offshore development, with all future production being processed through this facility.
“’Today’s event is another major step towards the completion of this world-class facility by late 2015, and a major step in the delivery of the Ichthys LNG Project – one of the world’s most exciting and challenging developments.”
The CPF is a very large floating facility that gathers natural gas and condensate from the Ichthys Field’s subsea wells.
Gas will undergo initial processing on the CPF, which will be permanently moored at the field, to extract condensate and water and remove impurities in order to make the gas suitable for transmission.
Most condensate will be transferred from the CPF to the nearby floating production, storage and offloading facility (FPSO) for offshore processing, with the remainder sent to Darwin with the gas via the 889 kilometre gas export pipeline.
Earlier this year on 19 February, a major milestone was reached for the FPSO when the Project celebrated its keel laying.
With topside dimensions of 150 metres by 110 metres, the CPF will be the world’s largest semi-submersible platform.
Once complete, it will be towed around 6,000 kilometres to the Ichthys Field in the Browse Basin, offshore Western Australia.
Work is underway for all major Ichthys LNG Project facilities, including the Central Processing Facility, the FPSO, the subsea structures, flow lines and umbilicals, the Gas Export Pipeline, and the onshore LNG processing plant in Darwin.
